Christmas Messages from Past Presidents

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LYNDON B. JOHNSON
36th President of the United States: 1963 ‐ 1969
The President's Christmas Message to the Men and Women of the Armed Forces.
December 18, 1966

CHRISTMAS is a time for hope. It is also a season for renewed inspiration from Christ's universal message of peace on earth, good will toward men.

To the men and women of the Armed Forces and to their families, Mrs. Johnson and I send our warmest wishes for the blessings of the Christmas heritage.

Many of you are serving the cause of freedom far from your homes and families.

Among other freedoms, you are safeguarding the right of worship. Our prayers, the invocations of free men, are constantly with you.

Your courage and dedication have earned our deepest gratitude and pride.

As we enter the New Year, we shall reaffirm our determination to secure a world at peace. And we shall hold fast to our faith in the brotherhood of men, everywhere on earth.

The President's Christmas Message to the Men and Women of the Armed Forces. | The American Presidency Project

www.presidency.ucsb.edu

 

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Season's Greetings from the White House

Images of past holiday cards from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush.

georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov

 

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Christmas Address of President Ronald Reagan, December 23, 1981​

President Reagan sends Christmas message to American troops in 1987​

 

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President Kennedy Wishes a Merry Christmas to the U.S. Armed Forces (1961)​

 

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LOL, I never saw this. Pretty funny.
FLASHBACK: President George W. Bush Released 'A Very Beazley Christmas In 2005

 

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George Washington at Christmas​

George Washington at Christmas

www.mountvernon.org

Christmas and the winter holidays are popular times to come to George Washington’s Mount Vernon. While the estate is filled with a certain holiday flair, you won’t find in the Mansion any Christmas trees, mountains of wrapped gifts, or stockings hung with care over the Vaughan Mantel. Those familiar holiday traditions would arrive later in the 19th and 20th centuries.

So, you might wonder, did George Washington even celebrate Christmas? Well, yes he did. Christmas was an important religious holiday in Washington’s time, and the twelve nights of Christmas, ending with balls and parties on January 6, extended the holiday season. For Washington, his Christmas experiences range from the joyous to the terrifying, from the mundane to the celebratory.

During the Presidency

Christmas 1789

This was George Washington’s first Christmas as the first president of the United States. As the White House had not been constructed, the Washingtons were in their rented New York home for this holiday season.

On Christmas Eve, President Washington attended to business; he met with General Knox, the Secretary of War. President Washington attended services at St. Paul’s Church. Visitors in the afternoon came to see Mrs. Washington as this was her regular levee day.

Christmas 1790

In 1790, the Washingtons were in Philadelphia, the new seat of government.

Back at Mount Vernon, workers were granted four days off for Christmas. This practice would continue throughout the rest of Washington’s life.


Washington's House in Philadelphia




"George Washington and Family" by Thomas Pritchard Rossiter, 1858-1860. Gift of Nanine Hilliard Greene, 2000 [H-4173].